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A Friend of Mine

About two years ago, during the Christmas holidays, I brought my kids to the movies at the local mall. The big hit movie at the time was a thriller called "Ghajini", starring the great Amir Khan. The queue for that one was unbelievable. I was bringing my kids to see a movie about a cartoon elephant called "Jumbo." I met another mother, Sunidhi, in the rush, with her two daughters. It was rather difficult for us to procure the tickets for the movie we wanted, but we managed in the end and had a good laugh about it afterwards. We found out from chatting that her two kids attend the same school as my boys. We exchanged mobile numbers and have become good friends and keep in regular touch.

I hadn't heard from Sunidhi in a while. About a month ago we met at the school. She told me that she had not been getting in touch lately as her mother had cancer. I tried to encourage her to think positively. I told her that my own mother is a breast cancer survivor, having gone through operations and even having been a hospice patient. About a week ago, just before Christmas. I was happy to learn that Sunidhi's mother has improved a lot and is doing great.

Her new year greetings have reached me by SMS just now. It's hard to believe we have known each other for two years. We hardly ever meet, but yes, Sunidhi is a friend of mine.

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